Grandma's Cooking and Kitchen Tips

By Don Bell / Recipe Archivist and Compiler

Grandma's cooking and kitchen tips really come in handy when you're using the old fashioned dessert recipes featured on this site. The historical recipes are shown exactly as first published, and sometimes you might need a little help to get the results wanted.

Old Fashioned Cooking and Kitchen Tips

Reading Tips for the Kitchen and Cooking on a LaptopGet Grandma's Practical Hints for the Kitchen and Cooking
(Source: ©Wavebreakmedia/Depositphotos.com)

Grandma's Cooking Tips

Antique Measurements ScaleWeights and Measures

Easily convert historical recipe quantities with our handy cooking weights and measures tables. These simple conversion charts ensure your baking results are accurate every time.

Vintage Illustration of Lady Peering into an OvenOven Temperature Guide

Since vintage kitchen stoves lacked precise dials, use our helpful oven temperature guide to translate old-fashioned instructions into modern settings for perfect baking results.

Recipe SubstitutionsIngredient Substitutions

Don't let a missing item stop your baking! Discover common recipe ingredient substitutions that help you save time and complete your favorite desserts even when your pantry is low.

Cutting Apples for BakingGrandma's Cooking Tips

Unlock Grandma's cooking tips and time-tested kitchen methods that make preparing old your fashioned desserts easier, faster, and more successful.

Open CoconutHow to Crack a Coconut

Learn the easy way to open a coconut with this simple, step-by-step method used by professional chefs to get fresh coconut meat and milk every time.

Chicken-Shaped Egg BasketRaw Eggs In Recipes

Understand the best practices for safely using raw eggs in recipes so you can confidently prepare traditional desserts while keeping your kitchen food-safe.

Grandma's Kitchen Tips

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up with StringHow to Tie Knots

From kitchen twine to tying parcels and garden tasks, master these essential skills with our illustrated Guide on How to Tie Various Knots used in daily life.

Sharing Household TipsHousehold Tips

Solve those pesky problems around the kitchen and home with Grandma's old-fashioned household tips that are just as effective today as they were years ago.

Lady Cleaning Dishes in a Vintage SinkCleaning Tips

Keep your kitchen sparkling with Grandma's old fashioned cleaning tips that rely on simple, traditional methods instead of harsh chemicals.

Mother and Her Baby Washing ClothesLaundry Secrets

Discover Grandma's laundry secrets that work wonders on tough stains and delicate fabrics, keeping your linens fresh and clean the natural way.

Grandma's Cooking Tips

Old Fashioned Cast Iron Kitchen Cook StoveThe Old Kitchen Stove
(Source: ©Don Bell)

Old fashioned dessert recipes sometimes contain outdated measurement terms such as gill, salt-spoon, grain, and wineglass, making the quantities called for unclear.

And because most kitchen wood stoves of Grandma's day didn't have temperature gauges, some of the baking recipes didn't provide accurate oven temperatures and cooking times.

So, I've gathered a collection of helpful tips to address the shortcomings of the old fashioned cooking recipes along with some practical cooking methods to make your kitchen and baking chores easier.

Get Recipe Nutritional Information

Mother Showing Daughter How to Make CookiesMother Sharing Basic Cooking Tips with Daughter
(Source: ©hongqi-zhang/123RF.com)

Old fashioned dessert recipes rarely contained nutritional info, but you can easily visit the HappyForks website to get a free nutritional analysis and downloadable Nutrition Label for your recipe.

Just copy and paste your ingredient list into the online Recipe Analyzer and select the approximate number of servings.

However, whenever old fashioned dessert recipes are written in paragraph form, you will need to estimate the servings needed and rewrite the ingredients as a list.

For example:

2 cups cake flour, 4 teaspoons baking powder, and 2 tablespoons butter becomes...

2 cups cake flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons butter

Simply follow the editing instructions for any ingredients and measurements not recognized. It's easy to do. For instance, you might need to indicate the type of eggs needed.

Editing the Recipe IngredientsIndicate the Type of Eggs Called For in the Recipe

Once you've entered all the ingredients and the number of servings, you'll see the calorie count for each ingredient.

Cupcake Recipe Ingredients Input and CaloriesCupcake Recipe Ingredients Input and Calories

Finally, view and download a Nutrition Facts Label should you wish to save the results. For instance, below is the analysis of the Zesty Orange Cupcake Recipe that's found on the Homemade Cupcake Recipes page.

Nutrition Facts LabelNutrition Facts Label

Grandma's Cooking and Kitchen Tips Collection

Lady Reading Cooking Hints and Tips on Her Laptop ComputerEnjoy Grandma's Practical Cooking Hints
(Source: ©Wavebreakmedia/Depositphotos.com)

In this collection of simple cooking tips you'll find weights and measures conversion tables, suggested oven temperatures, recipe ingredient substitutions, and a collection of Grandma's helpful cooking secrets.

There's also step-by-step instructions for opening a coconut in seconds, and information on how to safely use raw eggs in recipes.

Some of the simple cooking tips are from a bygone era, yet they are fun to read, and you never know when you might find a practical use for them.

There really is something for everyone, and more tips are being added as I find them, so be sure to bookmark this page for later.

Kitchen Baking Pans and Molds from 1887Historical Kitchen Baking Pans and Molds
(Source: Royal Baker Pastry Cook 1887)
Grandma McIlmoyles Little Dessert Book

Sign Up now for GRANDMA'S DESSERT CLUB and download your FREE PDF COPY of Grandma McIlmoyle's Little Dessert Book. Also receive my regular Bulletin featuring classic recipes and nostalgia.


Learn More

Don Bell

Don Bell, Founder & Archivist, Old Fashioned Dessert Recipes. Don has spent over two decades preserving heritage dessert recipes from handwritten family notebooks, recipe scrapbooks, and vintage cookbooks. His collection spans hundreds of authentic, old fashioned recipes presented exactly as originally written.


Like This Page? Please Share It

Grandma's Cooking Hints and Tips. Pin for later!